Bismarck, city, capital of North Dakota, U.S., and seat (1873) of Burleigh county. It lies in the south-central part of the state and is situated on the eastern bank of the Missouri River.

The State Capitol, Bismarck, North Dakota.

Grant Heilman/EB Inc.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area in 1804–05. In 1872 Camp Greeley (later Camp Hancock; now a state historic site), a military post, was established there to protect crews working on the Northern Pacific Railway. Bismarck was founded in 1872 and was originally named Edwinton in honour of Edwin L. Johnson, who was a proponent of a transcontinental railway. In 1873 the city was renamed in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the hope of attracting German investment in the railway. That year the railway arrived and contributed greatly to the community’s growth. With the discovery of gold (1874) in the Black Hills (to the southwest, now in South Dakota), Bismarck became an outfitting centre for prospectors.

In 1883 the capital of Dakota Territory was moved from Yankton (now in South Dakota) to Bismarck; when the territory was divided and the two states admitted to the Union in 1889, Bismarck became the capital of the northern state. It has grown steadily and has become the region’s business, trade, transportation, education, and health care centre. Oil, gas, and coal production and distribution are major factors in the city’s economy, and there is a refinery at nearby Mandan. Government, business services, insurance, dairy processing, and the manufacture of farm and construction equipment are also important. Area agriculture includes livestock raising and the production of wheat, hay, and oats.

The state capitol (occupied 1935) is a 19-story skyscraper; on its grounds are the governor’s mansion and the North Dakota Heritage Center, a historical museum. Bismarck is also known as a site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and as the home of the Dakota Zoo. The city is the seat of Bismarck State (community) College (founded 1939) and the University of Mary (founded 1955). Southwest of the city are On-a-Slant Indian Village, originally built by the Mandan in the late 16th century but abandoned in 1781, and Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park; to the north, Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site preserves the ruins of a Mandan village. Inc. 1875. Pop. (2000) 55,532; Bismarck Metro Area, 94,719; (2010) 61,272; Bismarck Metro Area, 108,779.

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constituent state of the United States of America. North Dakota was admitted to the union as the 39th state on Nov. 2, 1889. A north-central state, it is bounded by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the...

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(1804–06), U.S. military expedition, led by Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lieut. William Clark, to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The expedition was a major chapter in the history of American exploration.

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Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The city lies on the Missouri River. Bismarck is the state’s center of business and finance. It is also a center for the sale of grain and livestock.

The capital of North Dakota and seat of Burleigh County, Bismarck originated as an army post on the Missouri River in what is now the south-central part of the state. In 1872, as the Northern Pacific Railway was being built westward from Fargo, the Camp Greeley (later Camp Hancock) military post was established to protect railroad construction crews from attacks by Native Americans. After it was decided that the railroad would cross the river near Camp Greeley, settlers began building a community there that became known as "The Crossing," though its official name was Edwinton. When the railroad reached Edwinton in 1873, it was renamed Bismarck, after German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in the hope of securing German investments to support the railroad.